More from the smoky/cloudy day in August along Alki Beach and Joe Block Park. Amazing how the boat in the top image appeared completely stationary to the naked eye, but after a ~30 second exposure, it started to blur in this photograph.

Smoke and clouds blanketed the sky back in late August, so I headed over to West Seattle to use the neutral, low lighting to do some long exposure (bulb) photography. Another photographer in town had mentioned this old, rusty dock, but he didn’t know exactly where it was- happy to have found it! I included two of my favorite photographs from this location.

After the fires this summer, views of Mount Sopris from Carbondale and the surrounding area were sadly hazy and smoky. A few evening rain clouds blew in over Sopris, but there wasn’t enough precipitation or wind to fully clear the air, leaving the views of one of my favorite mountains slightly obscured.

Sopris, Clouds, and Smoke, near Carbondale, CO (12″x18″)

Fortunately, on my last night in the area, the winds changed direction and pushed some of the smoke out of the region. It felt like I’d put on glasses- the view of Mount Sopris appeared crisp and well-defined as the setting sun cast a pink glow on the flanks of the mountain.

I stopped to photograph Hayes Creek Falls along Colorado-133 (south of Carbondale, just west of Mount Sopris). Water was barely trickling over the Falls, so I crossed CO-133 and shot a few bulb exposures of the water flowing around the rocks in the Crystal River. Hoping this area recovers from drought and fire season.

As we approached Winfield from Hope Pass along the Continental Divide Trail, the clouds parted near the horizon and allowed a few rays of golden light to shine across the valley onto Emerald Peak, Mt Belford, and Mt Oxford.

While in Colorado this summer, I helped a friend scout Hope Pass for the Leadville 100. Before stopping for lunch at the saddle (~12,500 feet elevation), I took this panorama to the west and north looking back down the valley towards Twin Lakes.

Visiting the same location year after year forces me to try to see the same scene from new perspectives. This summer, I spent more time to the right of the falls taking a few long exposures of the water flowing out of the limestone at Spouting Rock above Hanging Lake.